XV. Questions and Answers on Dissecting the Essence of the Pharisees

Question 9: I want to know how Almighty God of the last days performs His judgment work to save mankind from Satan’s influence. Can you tell us about your experience and testimonies?

Answer: That’s a great question! We should ask these key questions in investigating and seeking God's work of the last days. This is too beneficial for us to gain salvation through our faith in God! In regard to how Almighty God performs His judgment work of the last days to save man from Satan’s influence, let’s first read Almighty God’s words! Almighty God says, “In the last days, Christ uses a variety of truths to teach man, expose the essence of man, and dissect his words and deeds. These words comprise various truths, such as man’s duty, how man should obey God, how man should be loyal to God, how man ought to live out the normal humanity, as well as the wisdom and the disposition of God, and so on. These words are all directed at the essence of man and his corrupt disposition. In particular, those words that expose how man spurns God are spoken in regard to how man is an embodiment of Satan and an enemy force against God. In undertaking His work of judgment, God does not simply make clear the nature of man with just a few words; He exposes, deals with, and prunes it over the long term. These methods of exposure, dealing, and pruning cannot be substituted with ordinary words, but with the truth that man does not possess at all. Only methods of this kind are deemed judgment; only through judgment of this kind can man be subdued and thoroughly convinced into submission to God, and moreover gain true knowledge of God. What the work of judgment brings about is man’s understanding of the true face of God and the truth about his own rebelliousness. The work of judgment allows man to gain much understanding of the will of God, of the purpose of God’s work, and of the mysteries that are incomprehensible to him. It also allows man to recognize and know his corrupt substance and the roots of his corruption, as well as to discover the ugliness of man. These effects are all brought about by the work of judgment, for the substance of this work is actually the work of opening up the truth, the way, and the life of God to all those who have faith in Him. This work is the work of judgment done by God” (“Christ Does the Work of Judgment With the Truth” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

“God does the work of judgment and chastisement so that man may gain knowledge of Him, and for the sake of His testimony. Without His judgment of man’s corrupt disposition, man could not possibly know His righteous disposition, which brooks no offense, nor would he be able to turn his old knowledge of God into a new one. For the sake of His testimony, and for the sake of His management, He makes His entirety public, thus enabling man, through His public appearance, to arrive at knowledge of God, to be transformed in his disposition, and to bear resounding testimony to God. The transformation of the disposition of man is achieved through many different kinds of God’s work; without such changes in his disposition, man would be unable to bear testimony to God and to be after God’s heart. The transformation of man’s disposition signifies that man has freed himself from Satan’s bondage and from the influence of darkness, and has truly become a model and specimen of God’s work, a witness of God, and one who is after God’s heart” (“Only Those Who Know God Can Bear Testimony to God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Since Almighty God began expressing truths and performing His judgment work, God’s chosen people have started eating, drinking and enjoying Almighty God’s words. At every meeting they will communicate their understanding and discuss their actual experiences of the truths in God’s words. Almighty God’s words come upon God’s chosen people carrying God’s righteous disposition, judging and exposing man’s nature and essence of sinning and resisting God, exposing and dissecting how man is deceived and controlled by Satan, their various situations of resisting and betraying God while living under Satan’s domain, and revealing to mankind God’s righteous and majestic, and unoffendable disposition. Through God’s words, God’s chosen people see that God’s disposition is righteous and behold His wrath and majesty in His revelations to mankind. All men repent to the extreme before God and feel very ashamed. Only then do they feel that God’s holy essence is unoffendable. They see just how corrupt they are and have no face to face God. They all loathe Satan and despise that they are full of Satan’s disposition. They see that they are practically living like the embodiment of Satan, without the likeness of a real person whatsoever! Only then do they start to develop a truly repentant heart and be willing to accept the truth to become a new person. We have realized through experiencing Almighty God’s judgment and chastisement that corrupt mankind can resist and betray God and live in sin without release just because of the deception and control of Satan’s various influences. For instance: the influence of the CCP, the influence of religious antichrists, Satan’s various heretical fallacies, philosophies and laws, and so forth. These influences of Satan are like an invisible snare, firmly binding and controlling us all, making us unable to see the light and God’s appearance, unable to grasp God’s intentions and living in the darkness, struggling bitterly. It is the judgment of Almighty God’s word that makes us see the depths of mankind’s corruption, and the fact that the world is dark and evil and controlled by Satan. We see clearly the deceptive and harmful demonic essence of the CCP, see clearly religious pastors’ and elders’ hypocritical and truth-hating antichrist nature, and are able to discern their various heretical fallacies, and realize that we have been deceived and corrupted too deeply by Satan! Satan’s toxins and philosophies and laws have become our nature. We rely on these things for survival and all we live out is Satan’s ugliness: arrogant and conceited, doing whatever we please, selfish and despicable, cunning and deceitful, being full of lies, being fed up with the truth, not having a heart that fears God at all. We have long become the embodiment of Satan, without any of the likeness of a real person! Even so, we still anticipate being brought up into the kingdom of heaven. We are so shameless! In the past, we were deceived and controlled by religious pastors and elders. We were following Satan and resisting God but we didn’t know it. We believed in God but worshiped and followed man, and listened to pastors and elders in everything, but did not choose to seek the truth and obey God. We were really pitiful and blind; we didn’t know God. Since experiencing Almighty God’s judgment work of the last days, we have gradually come to understand and know all of the truths expressed by Almighty God, and are able to distinguish between positive and negative things more and more, and know God better and better. Our outlook on life and values have changed as well. Our satanic disposition has gradually been cleansed and we are no longer bound by Satan’s influence. All heretical fallacies belonging to Satan can no longer deceive us easily. We have gained release from all bondages in secular families. We have started to live freely before God, fulfilling our duty of a creature, practicing living by God’s words each day, and gradually entering the reality of the truth of God’s words. This is how we experience God’s work face to face. In fulfilling our duties we also often accept God’s disciplining, pruning and dealing with, living in God’s love. We have all truly felt that the work of Almighty God in the last days is too practical! It can indeed save and perfect people! We truly appreciate that only by accepting judgment before Christ’s seat can man gain the truth and life. What Christ of the last days brings is the way of eternal life. This is absolutely true.

Almighty God says, “In truth, with the exception of the books of prophecy, the Old Testament is mostly a historical record. Some of the New Testament epistles derive from human experiences, others from the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit; the letters of Paul, for instance, are from human work, and they were all enlightened by the Holy Spirit. These letters, which Paul sent to the churches, offer words of exhortation and encouragement to the brothers and sisters there; they are not the words of the Holy Spirit. Paul could not speak on behalf of the Holy Spirit. He was not a prophet, and moreover he did not see visions. These letters were written to the churches of that time in Ephesus, Philadelphia, Galatia, and other places.”

Almighty God says, “… Paul’s letters in the New Testament to the churches were not the revelation of the Holy Spirit, nor words directly from the Holy Spirit; they were simply Paul’s exhortation, consolation, and encouragement to the churches during the time he worked, as well as a record of much work done by him. … Everything he said that edified others and had a positive effect was correct, but his words did not represent the words of the Holy Spirit, and did not represent God."

Almighty God says, “The flesh of man has been corrupted by Satan, and most deeply blinded, and profoundly harmed. The most fundamental reason why God works personally in the flesh is because the object of His salvation is man, who is of the flesh, and because Satan also uses the flesh of man to disturb the work of God. The battle with Satan is actually the work of conquering man, and at the same time, man is also the object of God’s salvation. In this way, the work of God incarnate is essential."